


The "Angel" Who Stole Christmas

by phantomthief_fee



Series: BATIM Drabbles [17]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: But it's mostly tooth rotting fluff, F/M, Grinch AU, Originally Posted on Tumblr, There's some background angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 21:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17149610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: An obligatory Christmas story about Malice learning the true meaning of Christmas





	The "Angel" Who Stole Christmas

So, [@clair-de-luna](https://tmblr.co/mrTAp-Xadbo9axRZffAx7LA) did this [Grinch AU](https://clair-de-luna.tumblr.com/tagged/grinch-au) and it’s amazing and I wanted to write something for it.

I took a few liberties with Susie/Malice’s tragic motivation. I took a few liberties with a lot of things, really.

* * *

Malice hated Christmas. Every year, she had to see the people at the bottom of the mountain she lived on throw huge parties and celebrate together. It was maddening! Seeing them all together like that when she was alone on the mountain. Not to mention, it didn’t really  **mean** anything. It was stuff! All of it! Just loads and loads of stuff! Christmas was just a commercial holiday pushed upon people to sell stupid products. And Malice had had enough of it. So she was going to steal Christmas! To prove to all the inhabitants of the village that they were just vapid consumerist trash! They didn’t actually  _care_  about each other. They’d never cared about her. 

_No matter what Sammy said._

Boris wasn’t entirely sure that this was a good idea, but he was going along with it. Malice acted big and scary, but she wasn’t really a bad person. The worst thing she’d ever done was construct a cannon to throw snowballs at the various children who ventured up the mountain. And even then, the kids generally enjoyed getting pelted with snowballs. He figured she’d probably have at least a little fun doing this. She really didn’t get out much. Besides, she couldn’t cause that much property damage, right? Most of the property damage would probably come from him, honestly.

In any case, they were going to steal Christmas. Malice dressed herself up like Santa so that if she was caught she could play it off like she actually was Santa, and Boris got to be a reindeer. Boris was very excited to be a reindeer. He never got to dress up! If he had a tail, it would have been wagging! In order to disguise her identity more, Malice probably should have worn a beard too, but she absolutely wasn’t willing to do that. It was too itchy, apparently. Not to mention, none of her disguises involved beards. 

“We need to be quiet, got it?” Malice said as she fitted the horn onto Boris’ head. Boris nodded enthusiastically. 

“I mean it.” Malice said. “No galumphing around, now! We need the element of surprise!” Boris nodded again. Malice rolled her eyes, running a hand over her face.

“Why do I even bother?” She threw her hands up. “You’re useless!” Boris put his head on her shoulder, nuzzling her face. Malice hunched her shoulders, groaning louder. 

“You’re the worst.” She muttered, scratching his head. Boris just made some happy noises, continuing to nuzzle her. 

They headed down to the village with a sleigh that Malice had stolen. Well, stolen was a generous word. There a woman who lived near the mountain who had a sleigh and Malice had tried to steal it. Try being the operative word. Malice and Boris had set foot on Lacie’s property only to immediately be greeted by Lacie herself. She was sitting on her porch, rocking in her chair. 

“Bit late to be coming by.” She said. Boris waved to Lacie, a big grin on his face. 

“Don’t wave!” Malice hissed, forcing his hand down. “We’re trespassing!”

“I’m assuming you need something,” Lacie said. “Might as well just tell me what you’re here for.” Malice grumbled, turning back around, her face burning with shame. 

“I...need your sleigh.” She mumbled. “For...things.”

“Alright. Take it.” Lacie shrugged. “Just bring it back once you're done.” 

“What makes you think I’ll do that?” Malice asked, drawing herself up to her full height. She was taller than Lacie, at the very least. 

“You will,” Lacie said, getting up and going inside. Malice muttered to herself and she stomped over to the sleigh, attaching Boris to the front. He had the strength to pull it, after all. 

“I should have just built a sleigh.” She stamped her feet to get the snow off. “It would have been much easier! I could have done it, too!” She could have done it, but it wouldn’t have been easier. This whole plan had been a bit of a spur of the moment thing, only dreamed up at the beginning of the month. She wouldn’t have had enough time to build a sled that worked as well as Lacie’s. 

They rode down to the town under the cover of darkness. The town was lit up with Christmas lights and lanterns, the towering Christmas tree at the center of town shining the brightest. Malice stepped out of the sleigh, wrinkling her nose. 

“Look at this shameless display.” She whispered disparagingly. “It’s disgusting!” Boris shrugged slightly. He thought it was pretty. He always loved the Christmas decorations in town.

“Come on!” Malice gestured to him. “We have presents to steal!” Malice’s plan consisted mostly of stealing the presents of the town inhabitants to teach them a lesson about consumerism or something. Boris wasn’t actually entirely clear on the plan other than the fact that he had to pull the sleigh and maybe carry stuff. He waited outside while Malice slipped down the chimneys to get the presents. After the first house, she was rather angry to find Boris just standing around. 

“What are you doing?” She hissed. Boris shrugged, scratching his head. 

“Start taking the decorations!”

Boris looked from her to the decorations and back again, making a whining sound. He didn’t want to take down the decorations. They were so pretty. 

“We’re supposed to be stealing Christmas! We’re villains!” She gestured to the decorations. Boris sighed, his ears drooping as he began to pull the decorations down. He looked so sad. 

“Look, when we get home, you can eat the candy canes, alright?” Malice jumped down from the roof with the sack of presents. “I know you like those.” Boris immediately perked up again, starting to take down the decorations with more enthusiasm. Malice rolled her eyes. He was so easily pleased. She went back to stealing the presents, going from house to house and taking all the presents and decorations she could carry. Toon physics came in handy with this. 

She managed to get to nearly all the houses before she encountered a problem. She didn’t even register which house she was in until she saw the picture on the mantle and felt her stomach drop. Oh, God. She was in Alice and Bendy’s house. Technically, this wasn’t a problem. But she’d had a lot of...experiences with their daughter Luna. Luna had gotten this idea in her head that she and Malice could be friends. No matter what plan Malice came up with, Luna always seemed to be able to ruin it and turn it into some sort of fluffy bonding experience. Not to mention the little girl was insistent on getting Malice and Sammy back together. 

“She better not screw this up too.” Malice muttered as she began to pack away the presents and decorations. Bendy and Alice had really gone all out in the decorating. They always seemed to enjoy doing that. Malice’s heart hurt knowing that they were so happy. Why couldn’t she be that happy? Why didn’t anyone care about her that way? She huffed to herself, focusing back on her plan. She had to keep going. This plan had to work. She started with the tree. Alice and Bendy had a rather large tree, laden with many ornaments. As such, it was rather difficult to fit up the chimney. She knew it was probably going to be the hardest thing to get out. 

“Come! On!” Malice snarled, trying to shove the tree up and out. Unbeknownst to her, an ornament fell off the tree, rolling through the room and into the room where little Luna was sleeping. Slowly, the little toon opened her eyes. She could hear someone moving in the living room, and it certainly wasn’t her parents. Her eyes widened. 

“Santa?” She whispered to herself. She’d always known Santa was real! Giggling, she snuck out of bed and into the living room. She was a little confused when she found “Santa” trying to shove her family’s Christmas tree up the chimney. 

“Santa?” 

Malice froze upon hearing Luna’s voice.  _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit._  She’d been caught. Wait, no. She’d dressed up as Santa for this exact reason. Clearing her throat, she turned around and gave the little girl her biggest smile. 

“Why, yes!” She tried to force herself to sound cheerful. 

“Why’re you taking our tree?” Luna asked, her head tilted to the side. 

“It’s, um, it’s got a broken bulb on one side.” Malice said, pointing a bulb on the side that she’d bumped loose with all her shoving. “I’m taking it back to my workshop where I can fix it up. Then I’ll bring it back.”

“Oh. Okay!” Luna immediately brightened at this. “That’s really nice of you!”

“It’s my job to be nice!” Malice replied. She was dying inside. This was killing her. 

“Can I see what you brought me?” Luna started bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Oooh! Can I see what you brought Mom and Dad?”

“If I showed you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Malice said in a faux-serious tone of voice. 

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Luna nodded. 

“I’ll get you some water, and you can go to bed.” Malice said. “It’s late.”

“Okay.” Luna shrugged, following Malice. “Who else are you visiting? I mean, I know you visit everyone in the world, but who have you already gone to? Are you visiting anyone else in town?” It took a lot of effort for Malice to not break down and groan.

“That’s a secret.” 

Luna continued to ask questions as Malice made her way back to the living room. To Malice’s horror, she was actually starting to find the girl endearing. The way Luna just looked up at her with those wide eyes, completely in awe of her. It actually made Malice a little happy.

“Oh, um, you probably need to leave now.” Luna paused as Malice returned to the tree. “To get the tree back to your shop and all that.” She looked a little disappointed. Malice actually felt bad. 

“It’ll be back before you know it.” She smiled softly before turning and going back to shoving the tree up the chimney. 

“Santa?” Luna’s voice was soft. “Please don’t forget Miss Susie. I know she’s mean, and scary...But I think deep down...She’s actually pretty nice.” 

“I...I’ll visit her.” Malice said.

“Okay. Night Santa!” 

Malice listened as Luna went back to her room. She took a deep breath. She had to execute her plan. She had to finish this. She didn’t care that she was letting Luna down. She absolutely didn’t care. Nope. She managed to get the tree up the chimney and started to work on the presents and decorations, not noticing that her sack was a bit heavier than it should have been. 

“Alright. That’s all the houses.” Malice said when she got back to the sleigh. “Let’s go.” Boris nodded. He had a few wreaths around his neck now and looked very proud of himself. 

“...The wreaths don’t look terrible.” Malice admitted. “Now come on!” Boris strapped himself back in and they headed out of the town. Malice wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do with the presents and decorations. There was a ravine near the mountain. She could dump them there. Or maybe she could just keep them. Nah, she’d probably dump them. But she’d let Boris keep a few. He’d been a good boy.

Once they reached the mountain, Malice got off of the sleigh. 

“Alright, you can take a few and then we’re dumping them in the ravine.” She said. “That will teach them to be consumerist trash!” Boris tilted his head to the side, then shrugged and went to start digging through the bags. Malice stood in the snow, reveling in the fact that she’d pulled off this plan. She’d stolen Christmas! Then she heard a voice she’d hoped not to hear. 

“Hi, Boris!” 

Slowly, Malice turned around. There was Luna, being held aloft by a very excited looking Boris. 

“How did you get in the bag?!” Malice demanded, throwing her Santa hat on the ground. 

“I snuck in after you took the tree up the chimney!” Luna said brightly. “I knew it was you, Miss Susie!” Malice groaned, covering her face with her hands. Boris started tossing Luna up and down, very pleased to have her there. 

“Why did you get in the bag, Luna?” Malice asked, utterly defeated. Her plan had been utterly ruined, once more, by Luna. 

“I wanted to see what you were doing,” Luna said. “What were you doing, Miss Susie?”

“....Stealing Christmas.” 

“But why?” Luna’s look of confusion stabbed at Malice’s heart. 

“B-Because it’s a consumerist holiday that’s meant to promote the consumption of things!” Malice sputtered. “It’s all about stuff! No one cares about each other!”

“That’s not true.” Luna frowned. “I know not everyone gets along, but we try to love each other.”

“Then why does no one ever try to include me?” Malice whispered, her shoulders slumping. “If everyone tries to love each other, then why does no one ever try to love me?”

“Well, for starters, you scare a lot of people. Everyone just assumed you  **want** to be alone,” Luna said. “But Mr. Sammy tries to include you. Or, at least, I know he wants to.”

Malice snorted derisively. “He abandoned me after I was no longer beautiful. He doesn’t care about me. He just pretends to.”

“He  _does_!” Luna folded her arms, her scowl slowly turning sad. “Mom and Dad say he’s just scared. He doesn’t want to mess things up with you. Plus he kinda thinks you hate him.”

“I do hate him!” Malice said, although she wasn’t fooling anyone. Boris walked over and enfolded her in a hug. She always got a bit weepy when it came to Sammy. 

“I’m fine!” Malice insisted, trying to push Boris away. Boris only held her closer, nuzzling his face against hers. In the end, Malice gave up and let him snuggle her. 

“I’m fine.” She repeated. “This is unnecessary.” Luna sat on the sleigh, watching Malice and Boris with her head tilted to the side. 

“Christmas is about spending time together, Miss Susie.” She said. “It’s about being with the people you love and celebrating the love you have for each other. That’s what Mom and Dad say.” She got off the sleigh, walking over and hugging Malice as best she could. “There are lots of people who you love you, Miss Susie. You should spend Christmas with them.”

“Who would ever love someone like me?” Malice felt her facade beginning to crumble. 

“Well,  _I_  love you.” Luna looked up, giving her a big smile. “And Mr. Sammy loves you, and Mom loves you. Dad says he doesn’t care, but he likes you too.” Malice’s face twisted in frustration. 

“Why are you so cute?” She groaned.

“It’s my job.” Luna made a cute face. Malice groaned louder, throwing her head back. Her anger, cultivated over years of isolation, was melting when faced with the overwhelming positivity of the little toon girl.

“Alright. Fine. Let’s go back to town.” Malice finally sighed. “I’ll return all the gifts.”

“Yay!” Luna started jumping around excitedly. “You can spend Christmas with us!” They all returned to the sleigh, Boris pulling it while Luna sat up front. Malice sat in the back, fuming a little bit. From the moment Luna had popped out of the bag, Malice had known she was probably going to be forced into spending Christmas with Luna’s family. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. It would probably be alright. Alice was always nice. 

When they reached the town, people were starting to wake up and wonder why their decorations and presents were gone. Their questions were immediately answered when Malice rode into town with her sleigh. Alice and Bendy were leaving their house, Bendy looking more than a little frantic. Malice picked Luna up by the collar of her coat, carrying her over to Alice and holding her out. 

“I believe  _this_ belongs to you?”

“Hi, Mom!” Luna said brightly. “I saved Christmas!”

“Did you now?” Alice laughed, taking Luna in her arms.

“Mm-hm!” Luna nodded. “I taught Miss Susie the true meaning of Christmas!” Malice, meanwhile, had walked back to the sleigh to start throwing the presents and decorations back to their owners. The townspeople, generally used to Malice’s antics, thankfully accepted their decorations and presents. As she finished returning everything she’d taken, she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“What?” She asked, turning around. Once she saw who it was, she froze.

“It’s been awhile.” Sammy smiled wearily at her. 

“I, um, yes.” Malice stood up a bit straighter. “How...How have you been?”

“I’ve been better.” He admitted, shrugging slightly. “How about you?” Malice glanced at the sleigh that was behind Sammy. Boris noticed her watching and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. Malice felt her face beginning to heat up.

“I’m...fine.” She said, clearing her throat. “I’ve been fine.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Sammy said. “I was worried.”

“Worried? About...me?”

“Of course.” 

“I...I didn’t think you still cared.” She let her gaze drop to the ground. She couldn’t look him in the eye.

“I never stopped caring.” His voice was so soft. She ventured another look at his face. He looked so tired, but he was still as handsome as ever. Suddenly, something caught her eye behind him. Luna had climbed up on the sleigh, holding a giant posterboard sign that said...

“SAMMY AND SUSIE SHOULD GO ON A DATE!” Luna yelled. 

“Sweetheart.” Alice sighed, shaking her head. She was still smiling, though. 

“Let ‘er do it,” Bendy whispered to his wife. “It’s cute.” Malice covered her face with her hands. This was Hell. She was in Hell. Sammy sighed as well. 

“Are you hungry?” He asked, turning to Malice. 

“...Why?” 

“I thought maybe we could have breakfast together.” He said, hesitating a bit. “Like we used to. And, uh, I have a present I picked out for you. I just...wasn’t sure how to give it to you.”

“I...wouldn’t be opposed to breakfast.” Malice said slowly. She was hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything in at least a day. She’d been so wrapped up in her plan to steal Christmas.

“Great.” Sammy smiled and held out a hand to her. Awkwardly, Malice took the hand, letting Sammy lead her back to his house. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had missed him. Despite herself, she allowed herself a small smile. Maybe Luna had been right after all.

Luna watched Sammy and Susie leave, her chest puffed out in pride. 

“Did you see that?” She asked, looking back at her parents.

“Sure did,” Bendy said, ruffling her hair. “Good job, kiddo.” 

“Let’s get back inside,” Alice suggested. “I’m sure you want to open your presents. Besides, you’re not really dressed for the weather, honey.”

“Can Boris come too?” Luna asked, grabbing Boris’ hand. His tongue was lolling out one side of his mouth. 

“Hmmm.” Bendy made a big show of thinking this over before finally nodding. “Yeah, sure, why not?” Boris’ ears perked up excitedly as Luna led him back to the house with her parents. All in all, it had been a pretty eventful Christmas morning. But everyone was happy. It had all been worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the awesome dragon-cookie's blog for Luna, clair-de-luna. It's a great blog with great art and great characters!


End file.
